Shloka 19
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
सात्यकि च शतेनाजौ सहदेवं त्रिभि: शरै: । ततस्तु सशरं चापं नकुलस्य महात्मन:
sātyakiṃ ca śatenājau sahadevaṃ tribhiḥ śaraiḥ | tatastu saśaraṃ cāpaṃ nakulasya mahātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Dalam kancah pertempuran, Śalya memanah Sātyaki dengan seratus anak panah dan Sahadeva dengan tiga. Kemudian, dengan anak panah bermata tajam seperti pisau cukur, dia memotong-motong busur Nakula yang berhati besar, bersama anak panah yang terpasang padanya—menampakkan ketepatan perang yang kejam, apabila keperkasaan diukur dengan melumpuhkan alat tempur lawan, bukan semata-mata dengan pembunuhan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethic of battlefield conduct (kṣatriya-dharma): victory often comes through tactical disabling of an opponent’s capacity to fight (cutting the bow), not only through killing—showing how skill and strategy shape outcomes amid violence.
During the Kurukṣetra battle, Śalya wounds Sātyaki with a hundred arrows and Sahadeva with three, and then severs Nakula’s bow along with its arrows using a razor-edged projectile, scattering the bow into pieces.